


Father with Children

by breakfastoversugar



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Teacher AU, act 2 marvin mostly but with some hints of act 1, but he feels bad as soon as it happens!, marvin and trina are friends!, marvin and trina got divorced before him and whizzer got together, whizzer doesnt know that marvin is jasons dad, whizzer is jasons teacher!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25479187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakfastoversugar/pseuds/breakfastoversugar
Summary: “He’s my AP English teacher. And I have him for homeroom, too.”Whizzer turns to look at Marvin. His beautiful face was carefully schooled into something neutral. Whizzer was waiting for a reply, a reaction. An indication of something. But Marvin didn’t know what he was looking for. It made him a little nervous, but he shook it off the best he could. “I didn’t know you were a teacher.”“Oh,” Whizzer started with a very cold tone to his voice, “I don’t think you get to comment on not knowing things.”
Relationships: Dr. Charlotte/Cordelia (Falsettos), Jason & Whizzer Brown, Trina/Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Whizzer Brown/Marvin
Comments: 56
Kudos: 95





	1. how great my life is

**Author's Note:**

> im writing something chaptered again!! its been a little while!
> 
> i originally wrote up the outline for this fic before i had written anything for falsettos! i think around march? so its nice to be able to actually sit down and write it!

Marvin loves his life. Honestly, he does. Everything was good right now. He has his son, Jason, who he adores. He has his friends and neighbors, Charlotte and Cordelia. He also has his ex-wife and ex-psychiatrist turned friends, Trina and Mendel. There was also his boyfriend, Whizzer. Honestly, things couldn’t be better for him right now. It feels like his life was finally falling into place. 

Feeling happy was still strange. Marvin had lived over ten years in his own special kind of hell. He was married to a woman who, despite his admiration and appreciation for, he held no love toward. Marvin would pine after men but never get what he actually wanted. And then he came out. It was scary at first, the divorce and actually being on his own for once for the first time in his adult life, but it was freeing too. Coming out and being able to be with men was actually … wonderful. Marvin was really, actually happy for the first time in his life.

His life was great right now. His boyfriend stayed over most of the week; he practically lived at Marvin’s apartment with him at this point. Whizzer had even slowly started to bring over some of his favorite small things and clothes to wear. He’s taken up almost two full drawers in Marvin’s room. Marvin was a little surprised he hasn’t taken up more, yet, with how finicky Whizzer is about fashion. And there was a shelf on one of Marvin’s bookshelves that held some of Whizzer’s knick knacks, all lovingly named, cared for, and regularly dusted. 

On the weekend when Whizzer wasn’t around, there was Jason. He was a quiet child, a little huffy and a lot spiteful, but Marvin bursted at the seams for his son. They get along much better now that him and Trina are divorced. There are times when Marvin can tell that Jason gets annoyed by him, but their relationship really has come so far. It isn’t anything like it used to be. Before they could be standing together but it would feel like they were complete strangers. Now, Marvin knows he can reach out to his son if he needs something. That makes Marvin happy. Knowing that his relationship with his family is actively improving makes him so, so happy.

The only thing he would probably change about his life if he could … well he would probably try to integrate Whizzer into the rest of his family. It’s not convenient, but Marvin hasn’t actually introduced Whizzer to Trina, Mendel or Jason. Marvin doesn’t date men Jason doesn’t like, so if Jason decided that he hates Whizzer or vice-versa ... well there goes his mean and beautiful and amazing boyfriend. Marvin’s life revolves around his son. Marvin swore that he would put Jason before himself now, and he intends to do just that. It’s the least he can do after so many years of just … not being the best dad. After so many years of Marvin putting Marvin first, he is finally doing what he should as a father and putting his son in the spotlight. And Jason hasn’t liked any of Marvin’s boyfriends so far. He is trying very hard not to get discouraged, but it is a little difficult not to.

So, if he procrastinates introducing them, can you really blame the guy? Besides, it’s not like his relationship with Whizzer was that serious. Despite the nine or ten months they’ve been dating and the fact that Whizzer was slowly moving in his things, it couldn’t be that serious…

Marvin hasn’t seen Whizzer in a little while - about a week now. Through no fault of his own, actually. He was helping out Trina and Mendel, who had to go out of town for a week for some emergency. Marvin doesn’t know all that much about it. Mostly because he doesn’t care all that much about it. He does care about one specific thing, though. They left Jason with him for the whole week. Which was great, Marvin loves his son. But that also means he couldn’t invite Whizzer over or really have much time to talk to him at all. But, still, Jason.

But, today is Sunday. Meaning Jason goes home today. Though Marvin will miss Jason, he is going back to Trina and Mendel’s today. Marvin had invited them to dinner, along with his best friends, Charlotte and Cordelia. So there was a little family dinner before Jason had to go. Sometimes the dinners made Marvin want to pull his hair out, and other times they were a lovely time.

Right now it seemed to be the first of the two options. Marvin just wanted to make some spaghetti in peace, but Trina hovered around him and watched him like a hawk. He knew she just wanted to help, but it was a little stifling. Marvin knew he should appreciate the gesture but ... “You added a pinch of sugar to the bolognese sauce, right? It cuts through the acidity.” She said helpfully. She took out a tasting spoon and dipped it into the sauce. “Hmm. You did not. It’s pretty acidic, Marv.”

Marvin reluctantly put a pinch of sugar in his sauce and gave her a tight smile. “Trina, I’m grateful for all the help, really. I’m also really glad that we’re getting along. I know I say this all the time. I’m really happy with how far we’ve come-” He stopped himself because he did have a point, and that wasn’t it, “But I would love some space.” 

Trina gave him a nice pat on the shoulder. “I know, Marvin. I’m proud of us too. And I’m just trying to make sure you don’t mess anything up!”

And Marvin sighs, long and loud and theatrical. All things considered, they were actually making progress. Not only had Marvin and Jason’s relationship come a long way in the past two years, but Marvin and Trina’s had as well. They were friends now. They were important to each other without any expectation of romance. It was nice. Sometimes. Other times there was still fighting and arguing. So, even being able to have a conversation like this - one that was kind of stressful for one or both parties involved - without getting into a big fight was progress.

“I know,” Marvin insisted, “But this is like one of the only dishes I’m good at. I’ve got this under control, Trina.”

“But you forgot the sugar for the bolognese sauce.”

Marvin took a deep breath through his nose. “I was getting to it. Don’t give me that look- Trina! I was!”

Ignoring Trina’s disbelieving look, Marvin turned his attention back to his pasta and listened to people chatting amicably in the other room.

“What’s Marvin making anyways?” He heard one of his best friends, Cordelia, ask from the other room. 

Jason hummed, “I think he’s making spaghetti bolognese.”

“Oh, I have a great cheese that would go with that! Babe, should I pop over and get it?”

Mendel laughed, a small nervousness creeping into his voice. “We’re kosher, Delia.”

Cordelia made a noise akin to an ‘oof’ and laughed. “I can’t believe I forgot! I’m a kosher caterer, after all! That’s so silly of me!” She let out another laugh, a little higher and a tad more nasally than before, “No cheese with the bolognese, got it!”

Everything seemed normal for a second. One blissful second where Marvin marveled at the difference between his current life and his old one. But then there was a knock at the door. Charlotte popped her head into the kitchen to alert him, but Mendel was already over answering it. “Someone is here,” The doctor said with a smile. Marvin nodded, washing and wiping his hands. 

“Mr. Brown!” Mendel cried out from the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Weisenbachfeld?” The voice sounded very, very confused. Also familiar. In a bad way. Why did they sound so much like him? But it couldn’t be. What reason would he have to be here? That didn’t make any sense at all. It must just be a figment of Marvin’s imagination.“What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Brown?” Jason asked, sounding almost as concerned as the other voice. 

“Jason?”

“Whizzer!” Charlotte said, wrapping her hands around the tall man. Marvin watched from the edge of his kitchen with a horrified look on his face. It really was him. And he was talking with his family. And they knew each other’s names. Whizzer laughed nervously and patted the small woman’s back. “What are you doing here?”

“This isn’t a secret parent teacher conference, right?” Jason inquired, turning his head to look at all three of his parents. “You guys wouldn’t do that to me, right?”

And… that’s quite an odd thing for him to say. Marvin chooses not to question it at the moment.

Trina walked over to her son, giving him a kiss on the top of his head. “Of course not, darling. I’m not quite sure why Mr. Brown is here, either.”

Marvin looked at his loved ones. “Mr. Brown?” He asked with a raise of his eyebrow. “That’s… why are you calling him that?”

“It’s called manners, Marvin.” Whizzer snorted at him, wheedling his way away from the bombastic lesbian. “Maybe you should learn some,” He smirked at him, vicious and handsome. The others looked on in confusion. Except Charlotte and Cordelia who know Whizzer very well.

“Whizzer,” Marvin hissed out and took two steps closer to him. 

“Why are you calling him Whizzer?” Jason asked, pulling them both out of the moment. Whizzer blinked owlishly while Marvin stood there like a deer in the headlights. 

Whizzer’s facial expression shifted at his son. His smile changed from vapid to warm and inviting and open. It was amazing in a way. Marvin loved that Whizzer became softer and kinder around his son. “That’s just my first name. It’s pretty uncommon, but it’s mine!” 

“Mr. Brown, I’m not stupid. I figured that,” Jason huffed and crossed his arms, “But why is he calling you by your first name at all?”

“Oh,” Whizzer said, looking at Marvin. Marvin gave Jason a tense smile. “We’re friends.” He said, tearing his gaze away from Marvin and looking back to his boyfriend’s son. The inflection was more questioning than Marvin would have hoped for, but he didn’t make any moves to correct his lover.

“Can you guys head into the living room for a moment, just so I can have a second alone with Whizzer?” Marvin asked his family. Trina gave him a wary, worrying look before herding their son into the other room. Charlotte nodded at him and grabbed Cordelia’s hand, leading her off. Mendel followed obediently after his wife. 

They stood there for a second, stewing in the awkward silence they created for themselves.

Letting a big sigh, Marvin turned to Whizzer. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked tiredly. Genuinely, honestly, truly, he had no idea why Whizzer was here. He normally doesn’t come on weekends - Marvin makes sure of that - and Marvin knows that Whizzer is fine with leaving things at his place, so he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. Why would he come here right now?

“I came to see what the hell was wrong with you.” Whizzer bit back. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at the shorter man, “I don’t know why you’ve just blown me off all week and I got a little pissed, Marvin. You didn’t even respond to my texts. You completely ghosted me.” He frowned, deep and obviously displeased, “I’m not usually the ghostee, Marvin.” His face, which had turned to stone the second Jason left the room with his mother, melted once again. “I wanted to know if I did something wrong.”

It reminded Marvin that underneath the tough exterior, there was a man who was desperate for affection. Marvin had seen it first hand, even if it took a while to get to. Even if it took a lot of work. Just because things were good right now doesn’t mean they’ve always been perfect. They worked hard together to grow together. Marvin wondered if that meant a lot. Marvin wondered if, maybe, that meant that things were not as casual as he would have liked to pretend. It scared him, a little, to think that what they have could potentially be a lot more serious than Marvin thought. He put that out of his mind.

“That’s not it, Whizzer.” Marvin said quietly. He reached out, but Whizzer took a step away from him. Marvin nodded, letting his hands fall back down to his sides. “I just had my son this past week. You know how preteens are crazy. I haven’t had much time, is all. And ...I didn’t know how he would have reacted to you.”

Whizzer looked off toward the living room. “Your son…” He said, trailing off, “Jason? Jason is your son?” His expression was completely unreadable. He bit at his lip lightly. His fists curled and Marvin already knew that he was digging his bitten nails into his palm. He didn’t sound appalled or displeased. Maybe he sounded a little hurt.

Marvin’s heart leapt to his throat and his stomach dropped to his feet. This was what he was wanting to avoid. If one didn’t like the other, then everything here was over. Marvin really, really liked Whizzer and he didn’t want things to be over. “Yes,” He said honestly, because how could he hide it now?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Marvin shrugged. He put his hands in the pocket of his pants. “I don’t know,” He said, much more nonchalant than he actually felt, “It’s not like we’re that serious, Whizzer. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.” And even if Marvin didn’t actually feel that way, he couldn’t take back the words now that they were out there.

“What?” His lover cried out loudly and incredulously. He took a step back. “Marvin, how could you say that? You know how long we’ve been together, right? You know how-” But before Marvin could continue getting his ass handed to him by his tall, pretty, boyfriend a loud crashing and breaking noise interrupted them.

A sheepish Mendel poked his head out of the living room, a small smile gracing his face. “Hey, Marvin, buddy... I, uh, I broke one of your knick-knacks.”

“What?” Whizzer said with the exact same tone and volume as when he had asked Marvin only a second earlier. “Which one?”

“Uh,” Mendel looked back in the room. “It’s like a little mouse? It’s white and it’s got pretty big ears, but I accidentally broke one of them off.”

Whizzer’s face turned ashen as he pushed past Mendel and into Marvin’s living room. Marvin heard a booming, distraught, “Mr. Squeakers!” Which … broke Marvin’s heart a little bit. Whizzer really sounded so sad.

Marvin followed after his boyfriend, into his own living room. Whizzer on his knees by Marvin’s bookshelf, holding the porcelain mouse with the missing ear in his open palms. He looked down at the small mouse with so much sadness and affection that Marvin wanted to just hold him. To tell him that everything would be alright. The taller man looked up at him, a frown on his face and his eyebrows drawn together.. “His ear is gone, Marv.”

Marvin walked over to him, running a hand over his back in repetitive, comforting motions. “It’s okay.” He tried to assure him, “Nothing a little hot glue can’t fix, right?”

“My prized mouse,” Whizzer laments, ignoring Marvin’s comforting, “He’s broken now. I can’t believe this happened to him. Mr. Squeakers was my everything.” He brings the broken ceramic to his chest and hangs his head. 

“Your mouse?” Trina glances between Marvin and Whizzer, eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. Marvin didn’t want to hear the thoughts she was no doubt thinking.

“Oh yeah!” Cordelia says, smacking Whizzer on the back and ignoring his loud ‘ow’. “Whizzer brings stuff all the time! He says it really livens up Marvin’s apartment!”

“It does,” Charlotte agrees, looking around the divorcee’s living room, “I mean, he doesn’t even have picture’s on his walls. It’s really sad in here, Marv.” 

Marvin huffs, ignoring the looks from all of his loved ones. He is ignoring Charlotte’s and Cordelia’s for judging him for his shitty apartment. But he is ignoring Trina, Mendel, and Jason’s for probably, correctly assuming his relationship with Whizzer. 

“So he’s bringing his things here?” Mendel looks over at Marvin, a smile growing on his lips. Marvin hates that look. Mendel shouldn’t look so giddy at the prospect of Marvin having a boyfriend. Marvin knows that as his ex-psychiatrist and maybe friend, Mendel just wants the best for him. But god, did Marvin hate him sometimes. “Marv, bud, that’s-”

:”Do you guys smell that?” Jason interrupted the melodramatics. With the question, all of the adults in the room blinked in surprise and sniffed around. Trina scrunched up her nose. Marvin sniffed the best he could. And it smelt like …

“I know that smell!” Cordelia chirped helpfully, “Something is burning!”

“The spaghetti!” Trina shouts, standing up quickly, “Oh my god, Marvin, you forgot about the spaghetti!” With that, she starts to dash. Marvin goes to follow her, but as soon as he makes a move to, the fire alarm goes off. Trina didn’t even make it out of the room before that happened.

Every single person in the room looks at each other in shock. There is a moment where the loud screeching noise isn’t there. In that moment, the only thing they can hear is the panicked thought in all seven of their individual heads. That is before Trina, who is now just at the crest of the living room, just clears her throat and says above the piercing ringing, “Come on, everybody out! Jason, darling, you first.” She motions over her son, grabbing his shoulders and taking him out of his father’s apartment.

The entire group of seven shuffled disgruntledly out of Marvin’s residence. Cordelia, all things considered, didn’t seem that bothered. Marvin took just a little bit of comfort in knowing all their neighbors wouldn’t think it was him that caused this. 

Whizzer is standing outside, still holding the two pieces of Mr. Squeaker. “This is terrible. I came over here to talk to you and my favorite knick-knack gets broken and I almost catch on fire.” He shakes his head unhappily.

Jason looks over at him and innocently tilts his head. Marvin’s heart swells at his kid. He’s just so cute. Marvin loves him so much. “Why did you come here anyway., Mr. Brown?”

Whizzer shrugged. He gently laid the broken mouse in Marvin’s hands before bending down to Jason’s level. “I just needed to talk to your dad. We’re- um. We know each other. I didn’t expect to see you here, though.”

“How do you two know each other?” Marvin interrupts. It does seem like they know each other, since Jason has called him by his last name more than once tonight. Hell, it wouldn’t even be an educated guess to say that they knew each other. Marvin can now just confidently say that they did. But that doesn’t make any sense, he never introduced the two. Unless Marvin’s prayers were miraculously answered and they already knew each other and enjoyed each other, there was no normal explanation.

“He’s my AP English teacher. And I have him for homeroom, too.”

Whizzer turns to look at Marvin. His beautiful face was carefully schooled into something neutral. Whizzer was waiting for a reply, a reaction. An indication of something. But Marvin didn’t know what he was looking for. It made him a little nervous, but he shook it off the best he could. “I didn’t know you were a teacher.”

“Oh,” Whizzer started with a very cold tone to his voice, “I don’t think you get to comment on not knowing things.” He smiles tight and furrows his brows together. He holds it for a few moments before dropping it and turning away from him entirely. “Listen, Marv, I have a lot to think about.” He now spoke much softer than his earlier tone. “ But at least I know you weren’t blowing me off for an entire week.” He paused, let the silence and shock linger in the air. Whizzer’s brown eyes met Marvin’s blue and the taller shook his head. “I’ll see you around, I guess, I’ll talk to you when I’m ready.” He gave one last longing, pitying look to Mr. Squeaker (and pointedly not Marvin) before heading off.

Marvin watched him go, wondering what the hell his night turned into. It was supposed to be a normal day, but everything went wrong at every opportunity. Someone puts a hand on his shoulder, but Marvin shrugs it off. He doesn’t want to be comforted. It would be terrible if he fucked up his chance with his lover because he was scared of losing him. That sounds like some of the self-centered shit Marvin from two years ago would pull. He thought he was better than that, now, but it turns out he can still be pretty shitty. He hoped he wouldn’t still act like that. He thought he had changed.

“Cheer up, Marvin. We can still order some takeout. I vote chinese!” Mendel said in a gesture that is probably supposed to be encouraging. 

“Chinese sounds good!” Charlotte agrees, taking out her phone and looking through a local menu. “I think we should order some chinese food when we get back inside. Since spaghetti is kinda off the table.”

And despite being around his whole family, Marvin no longer feels happy with his life. He wants to know that his lover didn’t hate him. He wants to know that his lover is going to be alright with the fact that his student is his boyfriend's son. He just, kinda, wants his lover in general. It’s been over a week since he had last really seen him. It could be longer now because Marvin didn’t know when Whizzer would be ready and willing to reach out. Or if he would ever be. Marvin’s heart throbbed painfully at the thought.

Trina put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently. “I’m sure everything will be alright,” She whispers softly, somehow always finding the right words to say, “But for right now, come eat dinner with your family and see off your son.”

And Marvin did, but that didn’t stop his mind from imagining the worst case scenario.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was designed super chaotic on purpose. don’t quite remember why bc i did the original outline like five months ago but it was !!! 
> 
> please don’t stop fighting for black lives matter! the blacklivesmatter.carrd.co is a fantastic resource for anything you need including where protests are happening, where to donate, and the names of far too many black lives that were taken too earlier by the police or white supremacists. don’t stop fighting their fight and don’t stop saying their names.


	2. a wonderful woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Almost a year?” Trina slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward. “You’ve been with him for almost a year and he had no idea you have a son? Marvin!” She looks like she wants to wring his neck. Marvin wouldn’t blame her, he has been pretty stupid and if anyone deserved to, it was Trina.
> 
> “So you were with him for almost a year and you didn’t tell him you had a son.” Mendel parrots Trina’s words with a calm demeanor. “Why is that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending of this is just me trina loveposting and i think thats perfect. she deserves it

Marvin has been a wreck since he had last spoken to Whizzer. It had only been two days, but it felt like two lifetimes ago. It had been longer since he had a good conversation with the other man. Since he got to see the smile that he adores, one that can be cold and mean and teasing but just as easily become warm and relaxed and content. Marvin wants to hold Whizzer in his arms, but he doesn’t want to fuck things up more. He needs to give him space.

“So,” Charlotte began, tucking her legs under her and taking a martini that Cordelia whipped up, “What happened between you and Whizzer the other night? There was something weird going on there.”

Cordelia joined her girlfriend on the couch, taking a sip of her drink. “Yeah,” She agreed and swirled the drink in her glass, “Everyone seemed really confused. And why were they calling Whizzer ‘Mr. Brown’? That is so unlike Whizzer. I think he would hate being called something so stuffy!” She let out a laugh, something just a tad shrill but overall very amused. “You sure you don’t want one, Marvin? I can make you one?” She extended her hand with the drink to him and shook it just a little. 

Marvin shook his head, “No. I have somewhere to be after this.” At that, Cordelia shrugged and took another drink of her martini. “Okay. This is going to sound stupid. Really, really dumb.” He lets out a long, loud, a little obnoxious sigh through his nose. He wrings his hands. He considers how to explain it to his best friends the most comprehensive way he can. “I have a family. A family whom I love-”

“Why are you saying ‘whom’ when it's about your family? Isn’t ‘whom’ like, … formal? It sounds so stuffy, Marvin,” Cordelia judged him, nudging Charlotte. The aforementioned woman smiled and kissed her hand, nodded against it. 

“Moving on,” Marvin said loudly, ignoring his dear friend’s interruption, “My family whom I love didn’t- I hadn’t-. I hadn’t gotten around to introducing them to Whizzer. Or telling Whizzer about them. Or telling them about Whizzer.”

There was a moment where everyone in the room was silent. He thought Cordelia’s eyes were going to fall out of her head with how they were bugging out. Charlotte looked annoyed at his shitty Marvin antics. Marvin’s blue eyes dart between them once, twice, three times. 

Charlotte set her drink down on their coffee table and cleared her throat. “So, let me get this straight.” She leaned forward, more onto her knees since her legs were tucked underneath her, “You don’t tell Whizzer about your family, and then he shows up at your family dinner. That sounds … not gonna lie to you, Marvin, pretty shitty, but it doesn’t explain everything.”

“Oh, she’s right, it’s doesn’t!” Cordelia said, giving her lover an affectionate look, “You’re so smart. And a doctor! Ugh, I love you so much.” 

Marvin gives them a tense smile, playing with the fraying edges of his red hoodie. He normally wears it when he’s feeling depressed, and if what he was feeling now wasn’t depression, there was no explanation for how he felt. “Well, as you could probably tell, they knew Whizzer. Because Whizzer is Jason’s teacher.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. Cordelia’s grin widened. “Oh my god,” She said, slamming her cup down and jumping up from her spot beside her girlfriend. While pacing around the living room, she explained, “This is just like some cute movie plot! Or maybe like a weird fanfiction! Either way, that’s gotta be, like, bigger than a coincidence!” She grabbed Marvin’s hands, leaning in dramatically. Marvin leaned back with just as much dramatics. “You can’t just give up! This is just the rising action! You’ll get a happy ending! Otherwise, why would anyone stick around for the story?”

Charlotte cleared her throat, getting Cordelia’s attention back on her. “Baby, I think you should sit down. This isn’t a movie or, god forbid, a fanfiction.”

Cordelia pouted but released Marvin’s hands with some reluctance. “Okay,” She sighed and plopped back on the couch. “I’m just saying that it can’t be a coincidence, right?” She leaned into her girlfriend, “Do you think it could be fate? Like us meeting was fate?”

Charlotte laughs and presses her lips to her taller lover’s forehead. Cordelia hummed a content little hum and practically melts into her side. The obvious display of affection and love made Marvin’s heart swell. He adored his friends so much. But…

“I’m not sure I believe in fate,” He whispered, catching both women off guard.

“What?” Cordelia asked, sounding outraged.

“What?” Charlotte asked, sounding confused.

Marvin shrugged, fixing his eyes on the coffee table. “I just don’t think that fate exists. If you just keep waiting for fate, I feel like you miss a lot of your life. I stayed with Trina for so long because I thought her getting pregnant was fate. I thought Jason was a sign that we should stay together. I thought that fate was the reason he came around and that it was a sign that I wasn’t gay.” He looks up at the women, who’s expressions have changed from shock and outrage to pure pity. “Don’t look at me like that, guys; it’s fine. I don’t regret the years I spent with Trina. I don’t regret the life I lived before I came out. I just spent a while living that mentality. Fate is cool and all, but I don’t I’m going to chalk everything in my life up to fate.”

Charlotte nodded, wrapping an arm around her lover. “Yeah, yeah, that’s understandable. So what are you planning to do about Whizzer? I’m sure he isn’t happy to know that one of his students is his boyfriend’s son?”

Marvin ran his hands through his curls, sliding them down his face slowly. “I don’t know. There isn’t much I can do. I’m planning to just give him space until he wants to talk about it.”

“Not the most romantic of gestures…” Cordelia trailed off, giving him a side eye and then looking away.

“I don’t need a big romantic gesture, I just need him to not break up with me.”

Cordelia nodded, grabbing her own and Charlotte’s drink off the coffee table. She passed her lover’s to her and took a long sip of her own. “I think things will work out okay, Marvin. Just remember what Mendel always says!”

“Everything will be alright.” All three of them say in sync, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Marvin’s coming out as more of a groan. Charlotte says hers as more of a matter of fact. Cordelia practically sings hers. 

“Thanks, you guys have given me a lot to think about. I do have to go, though. I’ll see you guys later.” Marvin says, getting up to leave his neighbor’s apartment. They exchanged quick goodbye, promises of dinner later in the week, and hugs.

Marvin loves his friends, really, he absolutely does. He trusts them with his life. If something happened, he knew he could just go next door and tell them immediately. They know Marvin, and they know his typical bullshit. But there were two people who knew him better than everyone else in his life. His ex-wife Trina, who he spent ten long years with, and her current husband. Talking to them about his problems is almost like second nature. Of course he doesn’t have to pay them now. Although he wonders if he should have ever paid for Mendel’s therapy in the first place, he doesn’t regret bringing him into his life. Which is not a sentiment Marvin ever thought he would have two years ago when Trina and Mendel first got engaged. 

Marvin doesn’t know how they’re going to react to what he will tell them, but he knows that their advice will probably be more realistic than Charlotte and Cordelia’s. They were optimistic, dreamers. Trina had been disillusioned long ago, and part of Mendel’s job was to give advice. 

When he got there, Trina had been surprised to see him. She smiled, though, opened the door a little while and invited him in her home. It was so much warmer now than when Marvin had lived here. Not much was actually that different, but it just felt different. It felt happy. It never felt like that before. 

“So, Marvin, what are you doing here?” Trina asked, shutting the door behind him. She ushered him over to their table, pulled out a chair for him, and plopped him right into it. 

“I, uh, I wanted to ask your advice about something, Trina.” He mumbled, shifting in his seat and fiddling with his sleeves. “You and Mendel know me better than you should be able to know anyone, probably, so.”

Trina sucked in a quick breath. She nodded. “I’ll grab him really quickly. Do you want something to drink?” She questioned, but didn’t wait for a reply, “You know where everything is. Grab yourself something to drink while I get Mendel.” The way she phrased it had left no room for argument or even disagreement, so Marvin did as he was told. 

He grabbed himself a glass of ice water. The cold liquid was calming. Also, he should be drinking more water. Adults did that; drink water regularly. He needed to. Maybe this was all happening because he wasn’t properly hydrated-

“Heya, Marvin!” Mendel nearly shouted, coming up behind him and pressing a kiss on his cheek. His beard scratched Marvin’s face, and the (slightly) taller of the two scrunched his nose up a little. 

Like a child trying to get rid of cooties, Marvin takes his sleeve and rubs it across his cheek. “Mendel,” He huffed, “You’ve gotta stop.”

“But we’re homies-”

“I know. We’re homies.”

“I think it’s perfectly fine to kiss the homies, Marvin!”

Marvin sighed. They’ve done this probably a hundred times now. It always ends up with Marvin somehow agreeing that it is fine to kiss the homies. He doesn’t know how Mendel does that. It irritates him, just a touch. Okay, a little more than a touch, but Marvin wasn’t going to voice it. God knows, he’s given Mendel enough hell in the past. 

Trina walked back in the room, nodding at the drink in Marvin’s hand. She motioned all three of them to the table and then sat at the head of it. It suited her, sitting there, even if it was more traditionally a seat for a husband, a father,  _ a man. _ Maybe in the time they had been separated he wasn’t the only one breaking some gender roles. “So, what’s going on?”

“Okay, so Whizzer-”

“Mr. Brown?” Mendel interrupts.

“Yeah, uh, Mr. Brown. His first name is Whizzer. I’m gonna call him Whizzer.”

Mendel nodded understandingly, making an exaggerated ‘go on’ motion. Marvin sucks on his teeth and starts again. “Whizzer. He’s a great guy. Really great. He’s wonderful. And very pretty.” Trina cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow. Mendel nods emphatically at him. “Uh, so, yeah… Whizzer and I are kinda, you know- We’re,” He made a vague motion with his hands.

As a response, Mendel made a noise of understanding. He bobbed his head in understanding before he turned to his loving wife. “They’re together,” He explains casually. 

“Wait, how could you tell?”

“I was Marvin’s psychiatrist for many years, Trina, darling. I know his weird little body language things.”

Trina smiled and played along, even if she doesn't entirely understand. Marvin nodded at Mendel, mirroring his earlier body language. “Yeah. Whizzer is my lover. Which is great for me. Probably going to be awkward for Jason when he finds out.”

“Oh, yeah,” Trina hummed with a frown, “That’s Jason’s teacher - his favorite teacher. And you’re dating him? When did that happen?” She pursed her lips and gave Marvin a look that was less than approving.

Marvin holds up his hands in a defensive position, palms out and near his face, “Hey,” He defends, “I didn’t know that Whizzer was Jason’s teacher until two days ago, at dinner.” There was a noise of understanding from the couple in front of him. They looked at each other. “I had no idea. But also, to be fair to Whizzer, he didn’t know Jason was my son.”

“What?” Trina cried out, sounding just a little outraged. It reminded him of when he told Charlotte and Cordelia he didn’t believe in fate. This is a much more appropriate conversation for the tone, in Marvin’s opinion.

“I didn’t tell him I had a son. I guess I just didn’t think our relationship was that serious.” Marvin mumbled, trying sheepishly to hide behind his curls.

Mendel hummed, tapped his finger to his lips, and spoke, “Is that it though?” He asked, with a tilt of his head, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Marvin, but I think there is more to that. How long have you guys been together?”

“Ten months. He insists on nine.”

“Almost a year?” Trina slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward. “You’ve been with him for almost a year and he had no idea you have a son? Marvin!” She looks like she wants to wring his neck. Marvin wouldn’t blame her, he has been pretty stupid and if anyone deserved to, it was Trina.

“So you were with him for almost a year and you didn’t tell him you had a son.” Mendel parrots Trina’s words with a calm demeanor. “Why is that?”

Marvin furrowed his eyebrows, taking his attention away from his imminent murder at the hands of his upset ex-wife to look at his ex-psychiatrist. “What do you mean?” He questioned slowly, as if the wrong word could have a terrible consequence. 

“If you’ve been with him for nearly a year, you would have had to know that maybe it was more serious than you had thought. Charlotte and Cordelia said he brought things over regularly, Marvin. I know you’re not an idiot, so either you knew or were willfully ignorant of the facts.”

Marvin sucks in a breath. Oh, yeah, maybe this was why he paid Mendel eighty dollars an hour. He drummed his fingers against the table. “I don’t know. I … I’ve seen a lot of guys since Trina and I broke up. But Jason hasn’t liked any of them. I want to find someone that he loves and that loves him. It’s what he deserves, you know?” He looks away, trying to ignore the stares of the two other people in the room. “If one of them didn’t like the other… then that was it. I would make my choice and it would be Jason, a hundred times over.”

“So if they didn’t like each other, you would break up with him?” Mendel gave him a half smile. When Marvin nodded, he went to write that down. He then realized he didn’t have paper or a pen and instead decided to just lace his fingers together. 

“Sounds like you really care about this guy,” Trina smiled sadly for a second before turning her attention to Mendel. A happier one blossomed on her face as she watched her goofy husband. “Maybe you were afraid to lose him? It doesn’t make not telling him right, but maybe it could explain some things.”

Marvin put his head in his hands, tugged his curls a little, and sighed. “What do I do?” He helplessly questions his two friends in front of him. He dropped his hands back to the table melodramatically and splayed his arms out in front of him.

“Well, Marvin, you should probably tell him how you feel. Give him your reasons but don’t make it sound like you’re making excuses for your behavior. It was always annoying when you made excuses,” Trina groaned a little. She then reached out and grabbed his hand, “And know that even if things don’t work out between you and Mr. Br- Uh,  _ Whizzer. _ That there will be some other guy out there for you.” She ran her thumb over his knuckles. “You’re not all bad. There is some good in you yet.

“But if this is something you want to be a sure thing in your life, you have to work at it. Relationships aren’t always easy. Love, Marv, isn’t always easy. You’re going to have fights. You’re going to squabble and fumble and have times where you can’t stand each other. There are going to be times when you get upset with each other. If there is going to be a future for your relationship, you’re going to have to put in the effort to right your wrongs.” She took her free hand and brushed a stray curl behind her ear. She was very matronly, especially at times like this. Marvin is so glad Jason has a mother like her. “You’ve been working really hard these past two years, we all can see it. We’re proud of you. But you have to keep the same ‘fixing my past mistakes’ attitude with you into your current ones. Otherwise you’ll just make more mistakes, unaware that you’re making them and it will be a cycle.” She drew both of her hands away and found a new purchase laced with Mendel’s. 

Marvin stared at her like she had just given him the most important piece of advice he had ever received. She might have. Marvin is so thankful for Trina. She put up with hell and misery for ten years because of him. Marvin drove her to the brink so many times and she is still here, still loving and caring as she has always been. Marvin wishes he saw this side of her while they were married. He spent so long thinking she was cold and closed off, because that is what he was used to from women. Not that seeing that she wasn’t like his mother was going to save their marriage, no Marvin is still very gay. But maybe he wouldn’t have been so hard on her. Maybe he wouldn’t have resented her. 

He’s glad that now they can be friends. He is happy their relationship can actually flourish into something healthy. Marvin is so glad the constant yelling, fighting, crying, hiding, nausea is over. He’s glad he can finally see the forest for the trees. He smiles, because if he doesn’t he’ll cry. And counts his blessings, half of them given by Trina. 

“Well,” Marvin starts, voice thick with emotion, “Got anything to pitch in, psychiatrist?”

“Nope! She about said it all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is so fun??? i feel like the tone is a lot less serious compared to other things ive written so i can have a little more wiggle room to have fun with it! idk. its just. fun!! also: mendel kisses the homies.
> 
> there is a white house petiton for justice for breonna taylor. it is calling for the arrest of brett hankison, jon mattingly, and myles cosgrove. those are the names of the men that killed a wonderful young women. there needs to be 100,000 signatures by august 25th. please take the time out of your day to sign this, it will only take mere seconds. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/arrest-killers-breonna-taylor


	3. he loves his father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ll do it,” Jason blurted out instantly after Marvin finished his sentence. “I’ll, uh, go to the Jewish Center. Make some friends. Join Little League.” He fiddled his fingers anxiously. “But if I decide I don’t like it, I won’t do it anymore.” He leveled his gaze at Whizzer, making it very clear who helped him make this choice. “Is … that’s okay, right?”
> 
> Whizzer nodded, a big smile on his perfect face. “I wouldn’t want you to stick with it if you didn’t like it.” He stood and wrapped Jason in a big hug, gently squeezing the bundle of lanky limbs and preteen rage. “But I’m proud of you for giving it a try! I’m sure those kids are gonna love you, bubbeleh.”

It had been almost another entire week since Marvin had talked to his lover. Meaning it had been about two weeks since they had last really spoken. He missed Whizzer. He missed the jokes and the love and the passion. Marvin missed being able to slide his hand into Whizzer’s to just hold until their hands got sweaty and Whizzer pulled away with a groan. Marvin missed simple intimacy with someone he loved desperately, but he didn’t reach out. He didn’t want to rush Whizzer into a conversation he wasn’t ready for, and he didn’t want to rush into what felt like an inevitable break up.

What if Whizzer never reached back out? Would he do that? Would he leave his little things like knick-knacks, pictures, camera film, his clothes, all the things that would haunt Marvin until he got the courage to either return them or get rid of them? The Whizzer he met nine or ten months ago would maybe do that, but they grew as people together. Or at least Marvin thought they did. Marvin thought they helped each other grow. He had seen the change in both of them, felt the change in both of them. It wasn’t just Marvin being hopeful, he knows things were different from when they started.

Sitting at his kitchen table, Marvin cursed whoever decided hot glue was ever a good idea. He’s pretty sure he has burnt off his fingertips. If Marvin was ever inclined to do crime, he would certainly get away with it now that his fingertips have melted off. Why was it so hot? Who thought that taking glue and heating it up would be a good idea? He stared at the small mouse in front of him and took a deep breath in through his nose. It shouldn’t be this hard to put ceramics back together after they broke. Hell, it doesn't even have to be pretty. It just needs to stay together. But Marvin manages to knock it off or slide it out of place before it dries and then he starts all over. 

Slowly, he picked up the ear of the mouse and the hot glue gun beside him. He liberally applied the glue, set the gun down, picked up the rest of the knick-knack and stuck them together. Now he just has to keep it in place until it dries. This was the part Marvin manages to mess up. He just had to hold them still, how hard could that be? He could just hold a stupid mouse.

A shrill, high pitched ringing noise bursts Marvin’s worrisome fretting and frustrated mouse-holding. He startled, dropping the small ceramic creature back onto his dining room table. He watched the ear become detached and slid across the table. Marvin groaned - loud. He glanced annoyedly over at his cellphone sitting on the counter which was now signaling an incoming call. 

Disregarding his annoyance, his heart leapt to his throat. That was probably Whizzer. He walked very quickly over to his phone. He didn’t run, because he was old and that would be pathetic. But if he did walk quicker than anyone had seen before, well that was Marvin’s business.

He grabbed his phone quickly, pressing the answer button before even looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” Marvin asked hurriedly and pretended like his voice wasn’t shaking.

“Marvin,” Answered an unsure Whizzer. “Should I be calling you Marvin right now? It’s for- Wait-” He cursed under his breath quietly, “That isn’t what is important here. I’m calling to tell you about a parent teacher conference to discuss Jason. That’s all.”

Marvin’s breath hitched in his throat. Just his voice made him speechless. He stood there until he realized Whizzer probably expected a reply. “When?” He questioned, going over a calendar on the wall and checking it.

“Wednesday. At 3:30 p.m.” A pause. Hesitation. “Can you make it?”

“Yes,” Marvin answered instantly. Despite having work on that day, and the conference being at 3:30 would actually be very inconvenient for him, because he worked a 9-5 job. He could go. He had to go. “I, uh, I’ll see you there.”

A sigh, maybe of relief, maybe of dread. Marvin couldn’t tell. “I’ll see you Wednesday then, Marv… -in. Marvin.” Whizzer coughed, trying not to sound too awkward and failing. It was extremely endearing. Usually, Marvin was the awkward one, so it was odd to see the tables turned. “Anyways, yes, Wednesday. I’ll talk to you then.”

Before Marvin could get another word in, before he could ask anything more, the line went dead. He kept his phone to his ear for a few seconds before dropping it back down. It was a start. It wasn’t where he wanted to be, but maybe this meant … something. He had never been called in for a parent teacher conference before. Usually that was something Trina took care of. Assuming that Trina didn’t tell Whizzer to call him, this could be a good sign. Maybe. He still wasn’t quite sure. 

Marvin checked his phone’s calendar. It was Monday today. He has all day today and tomorrow to prepare what he wants to say to Whizzer. And also to repair that  _ damned mouse. _ He looked back over to it. Maybe he should just give up, ice his burned fingers and his wounded pride. He sat back down at the table and grabbed the hot glue gun. “Alright, Mr. Squeaker,” He gritted out with palpable dread, “Time to be reunited with your ear.”

\--

“So he asked for you, like, specifically?”

“Yes, Jason. He called me.”

“I don’t get why he would do that. Usually Mom comes to these things. Sometimes Mendel. But never  _ you,” _ Jason said, poking his father’s chest from where they walked side-by-side in Jason’s middle school hallway.

Marvin huffed a little, averted his gaze, and tried not to feel like a bad father. “Well, Mr. Brown called me specifically,” Although he cringed at his own usage of ‘Mr. Brown’, he used it to feel polite. Marvin couldn’t really believe Whizzer would work at a place like this. It didn’t really seem to be his style. He always took his lover to be more of the kind of guy who would hate having a boss, who would always want to be doing his own thing. He always thought Whizzer would be a good freelancer. But a teacher … that was odd. Not bad, just odd. Not something Marvin ever pictured for the taller man.

Jason is silent for a few moments after Marvin responded. He led him down another hallway before speaking, “If he called you for a reason, I trust him.” Jason shrugged a little, going up to grab the straps of his backpack and being seemingly thrown off at their absence. “He’s like, one of the coolest people I know. Regardless of him being my teacher.”

Marvin’s heart stuttered. Once, twice, three times. This was good. Jason doesn’t hate him. Maybe when he is told the truth about his father’s relationship with Whizzer, that won’t flip on its head. Marvin smiled at his son, ruffling a head full of brown curls that are so familiar to his it makes his heart ache. “That’s good,” And that’s all Marvin said. It is all he could will himself to say. 

Jason grumbled the second Marvin’s hand touched his head. They stopped for a moment so that the kid could fix his hair. Marvin just watched with a smile. Something like this probably meant the whole world to a kid his age. Jason sighed, shooting his father a glare before shuffling his feet forward. “You’re lucky Julie Johnson didn’t see me like that,” He threatens, but they both know it is empty. 

They stop in front of a door. Jason glanced nervously at his dad. “Don’t embarrass me in front of Mr. Brown. Please,” He begged quietly, wringing his hands together, “I’ll do anything you want this weekend, even if you want to go see a musical or something. I’ll go and I won’t complain. Just-” He motioned vaguely. Marvin had no idea what it meant. He nodded anyways. 

Jason opened the door slowly, taking a good look around a classroom he goes to every single day like it was new and foreign to him. Whizzer was sat at a desk, looking out the window and nervously tapping his bitten nails against the surface. When he noticed the two in the room, he plastered on a fake smile and rose to greet them. “Jason!” He cried, cupping the child on the shoulder, “Great to see you!” He then turned to Marvin. If Marvin was someone else, Whizzer would look totally fine, absolutely nonchalant and professional. He would look suave and charming and flawless. But Marvin wasn’t someone else. Marvin knows his lover. He saw the anxiety in his eyes, he saw how his nails look a little shorter, a bit more jagged and uneven than the last time he saw him, he saw how his smile, though charming and beautiful, doesn’t sit quite right on his face. “Marvin,” Whizzer greeted, motioning to a desk, “Let’s begin.”

Marvin and Jason sit next to each other with Whizzer facing them. Jason looked from Marvin to Whizzer, probably wondering what this is about just as much as Marvin is. He took a deep breath. He was here to talk about Jason. He was going to be a good father. He wasn’t going to derail this with relationship problems. “So, uh,” He gritted his teeth only a little, “ _ Mr. Brown. _ What are we here to discuss?”

Whizzer seemed to be a little thrown off. He furrowed his eyebrows for a second. He falters, thinks, begins to talk, “Don’t call me that, Marvin. Just Whizzer is fine. Hearing that is weird from you.” He waved his hand. Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Whizzer pointed at the kid before he could. “But you, Jason, you need to call me Mr. Brown in class. Can’t look like I’m playing favorites, right?” He gave a wink.

A smile bloomed on to Jason’s face. “Even if you are?” He asked in a way that told Marvin he already knew the answer to the question.

“Exactly!” Whizzer answered with a smile of his own to match.

Marvin felt his heart unravel at the seams. It looks like they got along so well. This might just be perfect. Whizzer and Jason talked excitedly while Marvin just sat and watched, absolutely entranced. His heart felt like it was bursting in his chest. All he feels is love. Love for Jason. Love for Whizzer. Love for his family and what it could become. And,  _ holy shit, _ love for Whizzer. Had he ever admitted it to anyone, even himself, that he loved Whizzer? Marvin tried to recall and felt himself come up short. He loves Whizzer. He hopes that his terrible choices don’t drive him away.

“Marvin,” Whizzer hummed and he turned his attention back to his nervous, blue eyed lover. Marvin gave him a tense smile as he jolted back into the conversation. Whizzer’s expression melted for just a second before becoming just a little bit harder. “I wanted to discuss some of Jason’s problems with his peers.”

“Oh,” Marvin said on an exhale and visibly deflated. Jason practically mirrored his body language. “Whizzer, Jason has never really been good at making friends. Trina and I have done all we can, but…” He trailed off, thinking of the last large attempt. That ended in Trina getting married to Mendel.

Whizzer nodded, lacing his fingers together on top of his desk. “I’m aware. I’m not trying to cause Jason anxiety or push him into doing things he isn’t comfortable with. Making friends is hard, especially at this age. I was thinking, maybe if we got him more interested in some sort of extra-curricular or sport that he would come out of his shell a little more? It would build a foundation of shared interest. From there it would probably be easier to branch out and make more friends.”

“Oh,” Marvin said again, because he isn’t sure what to say. Because Whizzer blows him away everytime they see each other, but the thought and concern he has for his son particularly astounds him. “That sounds- Uh- Jason,” He tore his eyes away from Whizzer and looked at his son, “How does that sound to you?”

Jason scuffed his shoes along the linoleum floor. “I don’t know. I feel like I’ll just be smarter than everyone else and it’ll be annoying.” He propped his elbows up on the desk in front of him and held his chin with both of his palms. 

“You are very smart,” Whizzer grinned, “But being smarter than someone at something or better than someone at something doesn’t always mean that they’re boring or that they aren’t worth your time.” He motioned to himself in a very exaggerated manner, “Remember when you started to teach me to play chess? I didn’t know anything about it, but you showed me and used all the patience and kindness in that lovable little head of yours. And I’m still not good! But we play anyway.”

“You play chess together?” Marvin interrupted. Jason doesn’t like to play chess with anyone but himself these days. Even the thought of Jason and Whizzer sitting down to play chess was almost overwhelming. He wished he would have told them all sooner.

Jason ignored his father and laughed at his teacher, “Yeah, but you’re cool! You’re not like the other kids who think chess is lame.” He crossed his arms and looked down. “And besides, it’s not like I don’t like everyone. I like Angelia Delli-bovi, Heather Levin, Julie Johnson. What’s her name, uh … Mo Cristafaro! I like them.”

Whizzer raised an eyebrow. “Jason, those are just girls you have a crush on.” Jason’s expression turned sheepish as his face turned a light pink color. Whizzer smirked just a little, but continued. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be here. The local Jewish Center is a great resource. You could join a chess club, or the local baseball team!” His smile melted into something realer and more genuine, “When I was your age, I played for the Blue Devils there myself. I was a pitcher there for years.”

“Hey, you like baseball,” Marvin chimed in, trying to keep up in the conversation. Whizzer nodded at his lover, and Marvin wondered how much Whizzer really knows about his son. “Maybe it would be fun to play. The schmutz you would get all over youself and my lack of enthusiasm for the sport would be worth it if you found something you like.” He gave an uneasy smile.

Jason looked between his teacher and his father. “I don’t know,” He said quietly, “I feel like I’ll have the opposite problem with baseball. I’m really good at chess, but I don’t know if I would be good at baseball. I don’t wanna try out for the team and make a fool of myself.”

Whizzer put a hand on his shoulder. “Bubbeleh, it’s the Little Leagues. It’s just for kids to get out there and have fun. So you might not be the next-”

“Please don’t say Sandy Kou-”

“Sandy Koufax. That doesn’t mean you can’t go out there and give it your all and have fun with kids your age!” Whizzer nodded his head at Jason, “So, what do you think?” Jason shrugged, hiding his face under a shaggy mop of curls. Whizzer turned back to Marvin. Their eyes locked for a moment. “Marvin, what do you think about this idea? I would love to see Jason come out of his shell and make some more friends. As it stands, I’m one of his only ones. I think he’s an amazing kid, and I would love for other people to realize that, too. If he can find people his age to see that, I’d be the happiest guy in the world.”

Marvin beamed at Whizzer. His cheeks hurt from how wide he’s grinning, actually. Whizzer not only likes Jason, but thinks of the world of Jason, he is his friend, he cares about him. That’s more than Marvin could have dreamed of. Belatedly, he realizes his lover is waiting for his reply. “Yeah. I agree. Trina would also have to, but I’m pretty sure she’s been trying to convince him the same thing since we got divorced. And, of course, Jason would have to agree.”

“I’ll do it,” Jason blurted out instantly after Marvin finished his sentence. “I’ll, uh, go to the Jewish Center. Make some friends. Join Little League.” He fiddled his fingers anxiously. “But if I decide I don’t like it, I won’t do it anymore.” He leveled his gaze at Whizzer, making it very clear who helped him make this choice. “Is … that’s okay, right?”

Whizzer nodded, a big smile on his perfect face. “I wouldn’t want you to stick with it if you didn’t like it.” He stood and wrapped Jason in a big hug, gently squeezing the bundle of lanky limbs and preteen rage. “But I’m proud of you for giving it a try! I’m sure those kids are gonna love you, bubbeleh.”

Jason tried his best to hide the proud, earnest look on his little face. “Yeah,” He mumbled, hiding his face now in his teacher’s chest. Marvin watched them with wide eyes. 

When the two pulled away, Marvin cleared his throat. “Whizzer, can I talk to you for a second?”

His lover’s face pinched together. Jason glances between them wordlessly. “I’ll wait in the hallway,” The kid mumbled, stepping out of the room. It left the two grown men alone.

“I don’t want to talk about the, uh, the elephant in the room right now, Marv.”

Marvin shook his head, holding his hands up in a defensive position. “No, no,” He explained, “That’s not what I … I don’t want to talk about that here, either. I just … Jason really seems to trust you. He listens to you. He shares his interests with you. It’s really nice to see. He’s really protective over things he likes. So it must mean a lot to him.” His breath caught on his next words, “You … you must mean a lot to him.”

Whizzer shifted his weight. He puts his hands in his pockets. “He talks about you. A lot. He tells me about how proud he is of you,” He said quietly, “I didn’t know before that you were his dad that he loves so much. He tells me about how much progress you’ve made, and how he’s really happy that you have the guts to be yourself.” Whizzer leaned against a chair. 

Marvin’s heart feels so full. He felt something wet drip against his cheeks and realized he was crying. He brought his hand up under his eyes. Whizzer stepped toward him, bringing a hand up to rest on his cheek. Marvin let out a shaky exhale of breath. “I … I didn’t know that,’ He whispered into his lover’s palm. 

“I want to talk,” Whizzer matched Marvin’s volume. “But not hear. I’ll stop by your place tomorrow. We can talk then. If that is okay with you?” Whizzer asked and used his thumb to wipe away a tear making its way down his face. Marvin nodded eagerly. Whizzer pulled away, slowly, “Tomorrow then.”

And Marvin doesn’t feel the weight of anxiety at the impending, serious talk of their relationship. He feels good about it, actually. For the first time in two weeks, Marvin doesn’t feel the crushing weight of nervousness of an impending break up. He feels good, he feels like things between him and Whizzer will be alright. Maybe things between Whizzer and Jason will be alright. Maybe everything will be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jason and whizzer warm my heart. i think that jason and his step parents have the best relationships in the whole musical and i just. i love writing abt it.
> 
> moving back to a more serious topic again, there is a white house petition calling for the arrest of brett hankison, jon mattingly, and myles cosgrove. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/arrest-killers-breonna-taylor the petition has reached its goal, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't sign it if you havent already. there are many more resources on the blacklivesmatter.carrd.co so please do what you can, when you can.


	4. i love you, too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He looks,” Whizzer turned him in his hands using the utmost care, “Well, he’s seen better days. But you put in the time to fix a dumb little mouse knick-knack? For me?” Whizzer looked at him again now, bringing the object close to his chest and cradling it. “It’s just a ceramic rat. We could have bought another at a thrift store for like twenty five cent.”

Marvin was nervous. Just a little bit. After Jason’s parent teacher conference and the subsequent although brief discussion afterwards, his anxieties were largely lessened. Still, a little voice of dread found its way into the back of his mind. Marvin did his best to quell it, but it was a nasty, loud thing.

He should probably do something, keep busy. Marvin’s usual ‘keep busy’ things, though, were kind of off the table right now. Cooking and baking, things Marvin discovered he actually enjoyed post-divorce, were not the best option right now. Baking was mostly reserved for when Jason was there, God knows Marvin didn’t need the sweets, and he didn’t want Whizzer to think he was trying to trap him there with a meal if Whizzer didn’t want a lengthy sit-down kind of conversation. He rocks on the balls of his feet and stares anxiously at the door.

Whizzer didn’t give him a time-frame of when he would show up. That meant Marvin had absolutely no idea when his lover was going to get there. At the current standing, it was eight at night and Marvin’s jitters were only getting worse. 

What if he didn’t show? What if he was only going to show to grab his things and leave? A million more questions along the exact same vein ran through Marvin’s mind. He should probably call Mendel, or even the lesbians. Maybe he should just call Whizzer and ask when to expect him. Anyone who could quiet down his rampant thoughts would be a big help. But he didn’t. He fiddled with the end of his shirt and glanced at the door every ten seconds. 

It wasn’t that late. Maybe Whizzer had things to do. In fact, he probably did. Whizzer liked to show up after the sun had gone down most days. He once told Marvin it was for dramatic effect. And although he didn’t quite believe that, Marvin had huffed a laugh against his shoulder and kissed him. And what he wouldn’t give to be able to do that now. 

Two weeks. More or less, give or take. Too long. Far too long. He began to pace, the thudding of his worn sneakered feet hitting his wooden flooring brought him some comfort. This was fine. Everything was fine. Everything was alright. Whizzer was going to knock on his door any second now. He would smirk, comment on Marvin’s appearance. Then, he might say that he missed Marvin. He might wrap his shorter lover in his arms and kiss him. Maybe after that, they could pretend like nothing ever happened in the first place! Yeah, that’s  _ beyond _ hopeful, but Marvin is a hopeless romantic. Thinking of that kind of scenario was always going to be easier than the opposite. Marvin could bring himself to think of the opposite.

A knock. Marvin’s heart dies in his chest and restarts in the span of a second. His new BPM was one million beats per minute, probably. Or at least that’s what it felt like in the time it took him to get to his front door. Gripping the door handle, he sucked in a breath. This could be the worst thing that has happened to him since… A while. He doesn’t need to recount all the traumas in his life to know that this has the potential to be catastrophic for him.

“Marvin!” A chipper, very clearly female, voice sang out to him. In front of him stood his neighbor and friend Cordelia, holding a bag of … rocks? “I made cookies! They’re chocolate chip peanut butter! I used the crunchy kind, so there are chunks of actual peanuts in them!” Okay, so not rocks. Cookies. That are oddly shaped and colored. So much so they could pass as rocks. Or maybe clay. 

Marvin smiled and swallowed the rising disappointment he feels. “Thanks, ‘Delia,” He says, taking the zip lock bag and holding it in his hands awkwardly. It was just slightly akin to a baby.. “Jason’ll really like these.” Jason probably wouldn’t touch them, but Marvin doesn’t want to crush the hopes of his friend. Marvin won’t throw them out unless they give him food poisoning. Even if he’s the only one to eat them, he’ll eventually polish them off.

Cordelia beamed, so happy that her friends appreciate her efforts. “I just love him!” She gushed, putting her hands on her cheeks, “He’s such a cute and well-mannered boy!” A loud laugh emanated from her. She leveled her gaze at Marvin and a playful smirk crossed her face. Cocking an eyebrow, she teased, “Don’t know where he gets it from.”

“Trina, probably.”

“Oh, absolutely Trina.” Another voice from behind Cordelia calls out. If Marvin was, hypothetically  _ reading _ this conversation rather than living it (although, the thought of him doing that was odd. Why would he think that? He was living in this moment, not reading it.), he would probably think it was his neighbor’s lover, Charlotte. Whenever one of them was around, the other wasn’t far behind. But Marvin was not reading this conversation, and he could hear the timber of a deeper voice. Whizzer’s voice.

“Hi, Cordelia,” He said, taking her hand and shaking it happily. He was typically cordial, this was nothing new. Generally, Whizzer’s aura seemed to be warm and inviting, even if that wasn’t true. Marvin almost wished it wasn’t, so he could try to get a reading on how their conversation was going to go. How bad things were going to turn out. Maybe if he should be bracing himself for a broken heart. “Where’s Charlotte?”

Cordelia grinned at Whizzer and shook his hand with enthusiasm. “Late shift at the hospital,” She explained with a shrug. She swung their hands together for a moment longer before Whizzer retracted his. “I love her,” Cordelia said with a dreamy sigh, looking as if she could swoon any moment, “And I’m so proud of her for being a doctor! I just wish her hours were more steady. I love having her at home where she belongs.” 

Whizzer smiled but it was too taut to be completely natural. “I’m sure she’d rather be with you, too, ‘Delia,” He patted her shoulder. His gaze then turned to Marvin, who gave a nervous half smile. His facial expression didn’t change, but his chocolate brown eyes did flicker away. Just as quickly as they turned to him. Marvin had no idea what he was thinking about. His stomach twists itself into tight knots.

“Yeah! I made these cookies for her to eat when she got off work! Peanut butter chocolate chip is her favorite! But I accidentally made like, three times too much cookie dough so I baked the rest and gave it to ‘ole Marv here!” She playfully slapped Marvin’s arm. Cordelia stepped away after that, nodding to the two men before her. “But I gotta go, I’ve got another batch in the oven, I think! Nice seeing you, Whizzer!” She called and stepped back into her own apartment. 

Marvin lingered at his doorway. “Why would she give me cookies when she had more in the oven? Does she still have cookie batter left? Is this just one cookie care package of many?” He mumbled to himself, looking down at the brown round balls in the bag. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to bake them all and then give others some? Especially since I’m her neighbor. Also, what does she mean by she thinks? What else would be in her oven?”

“Oh, the horrors of having a thoughtful neighbor and friend who wants to look out for you,” Whizzer jested, taking the bag from his lover. Slowly, he opened it and took one of the cookie ball rock things out. Cookies mostly flatten when you bake them, right? Why are they so round? He chewed for a long moment before swallowing. “Not bad for her,” He said with a nod of his head. Marvin tried to ignore his hair’s gentle flop from a lack of product reapplication, “One of her better baked goods, I think. Not bad. A little underdone. A little too much peanut butter. But you’ve always said I’m not the best chef, so …”

“Hey, I lived with Trina for ten years. I think she might be the best cook on the planet.”

“When you said your ex was a good cook, I never thought you meant Trina good. The stuff she brings or sends Jason in with is so good. No wonder you’re so fucking picky, Marvin.”

“Right? It’s not my fault!”

“No, still your fault.”

“Alright, asshole,” He joked with a smile, opening his front door a little wider and gesturing inside his apartment, “Come on in.”

And Whizzer did, but the second the door shut behind them the casual air was shattered. The reason that Whizzer came really set in and was now suffocating the both of them. It was like a flip had switched in both of them the second the door had closed. Like the last nail in a coffin.

Marvin did something that he fell out of practice with for a while. He stayed silent and let someone else take the lead.

“Marvin,” Whizzer started after a few moments of awkward lingering. He set the cookies down gently on Marvin’s table. Pointedly doesn’t face him. He takes a deep breath and navigates himself into Marvin’s living room without saying another word or continuing his train of thought. 

Alright. Not exactly what Marvin was expecting, but there wasn’t anything wrong with going to a different location. Marvin looked at his table and thought about the mouse that he had fixed up just the day before. He thinks about fights, meals, conversations, laughter. This is an apartment that has little memories of Whizzer everywhere. Whizzer felt like a staple in Marvin’s home now, and he would feel totally lost without his lover at his side. Marvin lingered for a second longer to cherish the memories. He didn’t know how many more he could be making here with him. Marvin can hope, pray, beg, but that didn’t change the fact that this could be the end to the first real relationship he’s been in since his divorce. He takes a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth, and walks into his living room. 

Whizzer was sitting in an armchair by a window, staring ahead with his eyebrows furrowed. He was biting down on one nail while bouncing his leg anxiously. Marvin had seen his boyfriend nervous, but not like this. It was never this  _ palpable _ before. He stepped closer. No more than four steps, but it was enough to get Whizzer’s attention. He tore his hand away from his mouth and twisted them together in his lap. His lips squashed themselves into a line. “Marvin,” He began again, “I … I’m not happy. I feel like that doesn’t need to be said.”

“It doesn’t. I messed up, I know.”

“And I’m angry. At you, yeah, but a lot at  _ myself, _ too.”

“I don’t want to make excuses or try to paint myself a saint.”

“Marvin, we can’t both talk.” Whizzer chided. Despite his stern tone, some of the tension leaked out of his shoulders. He averted his eyes, staring ahead again and not looking at Marvin. “Before I met you, I was totally different. We wouldn’t be here, if I was still the same Whizzer from when we met.” He sighs. His shoulders sag. “I just … would’ve disappeared. Boom, bye-bye boyfriend. Would probably come back for my clothes, but that’s it. I wouldn’t have even tried,” His voice broke on the last word. He clears his throat. “But then you …

“You made me into a better person. I don’t know how, but I wanted to be better for you. For us. I  _ am _ better with you. You and this,” He motioned between them quickly, “This thing between us. It’s changed my entire worldview, Marvin. Before there was no lo-” His breath hitched. He tries again, “There was nothing like what we have. I just screwed and then that was it. My life consisted of my work and one night stands. It was so narrow. There was no room for boyfriends or affection or just waking up in the arms of someone you feel safe with. But then you came in and  _ you cared _ and I had never experienced that before.” Whizzer turned now, to look at Marvin. The taller of the two men looked frazzled, tired, frustrated, embarrassed. “I don’t usually do talks like this. I’m not really that big on sharing how I’m feeling, but, dammit, I _ like _ what we have, Marvin. I really do. But how could you not tell me? I felt so  _ stupid _ and  _ small _ after you said that this wasn’t a serious thing. Do you- Did we- Did I misread things? You have a son and you never told me. You had something so important that you just never brought. Was I not worth that?”

Marvin walked over to him, slowly at first but then picking up in speed the closer to him he got. “It’s nothing like that, Whizzer,” He cooed softly, grabbing one of his lover’s shaking hands and using his other to rub Whizzer’s back gently. He squatted awkwardly beside the armchair, cursed his aging joints but ignored them. His lover was much more important than Marvin’s knees. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I think this is really special, too, Whizzer. I like you so, so much. I like how you smile, how you can be mean but nice. I like how you take so much care into the way things look. I like your passion and your fire. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like you,” He murmurs. 

“Now isn’t the time for flattery,” Whizzer practically whispers.

“Not flattery. Honesty.”

“Marvin.”

“I know, I know. I’m getting on with it, so just hang on a little longer.” Marvin brought his lover’s knuckles up to his lips and pressed a feather light kiss to them. “I’m happy with you, Whizzer. But Jason? Jason is my whole world. If Jason vetoed you, then I wouldn’t be able to be with you. But he likes you, I don’t exactly know how he’d take the whole ‘us dating’ thing, but I think it wouldn’t go too awful. I haven’t always been the best father. I’ve been real rotten. But everything I do now, Whizzer, I do for him. I think of Jason and I burst at the seams.” He chokes up, memories of his son flashing in his mind. Like his first steps, or his first words, when Marvin taught him how to play chess. Times when things were good. Weekends where they would eat pizza and Marvin would watch Jason play games. Jason came back out of the shell he had constructed for himself after being such an angry and afraid child. Marvin’s heart swells. 

“Jason’s pretty great.” Whizzer nodded, a small smile on his lips.

Marvin huffed out a small burst of laughter. “Yeah, he is. I didn’t know you and him would get along so well. He’s never liked any other man I’ve ever introduced to him. I didn’t want to give up on this, Whizzer. I’ve broken up a few men because Jason just didn’t like them. I thought, maybe if I just denied that this thing between us meant something and acted like our relationship wasn’t important, that I could hold on to this. I know, it’s shitty. Like, really, really shitty. But I was scared. You have been a part of my life for almost a year and I,” Marvin stopped, he stammered, his brain short circuits and boots back up, “I-I think I love you. I didn’t want this between us to be over.”

Whizzer stares at him with wide eyes for a minute. For a tense second they’re engulfed completely in silence. Marvin tried to hide his anxiety, but he can feel his forehead and palms getting sweaty. He let go of Whizzer’s hand. 

“You,” Whizzer’s eyes flickered from their hands, to Marvin’s face, to somewhere past him, “You fixed Mr. Squeakers.” 

“What?”

Whizzer stood, brushing past Marvin and next to a bookshelf which held the ceramic mouse in question. He took the knick-knack into his hands and held it with caution, as if one wrong move would shatter the whole thing. “You fixed him. His ear is back.”

“Oh, yeah. The hot glue almost burnt my fingers off. Nearly went to Charlotte over that. But, uh,” Marvin cleared his throat awkwardly. His love confession was discarded in favor of a broken knick-knack. He tried not to feel self-conscious over that. He failed.

“He looks,” Whizzer turned him in his hands using the utmost care, “Well, he’s seen better days. But you put in the time to fix a dumb little mouse knick-knack? For me?” Whizzer looked at him again now, bringing the object close to his chest and cradling it. “It’s just a ceramic rat. We could have bought another at a thrift store for like twenty five cent.”

Marvin felt a little silly. Genuinely, he did. Especially when Whizzer acknowledged that his favorite thing was nothing all that unique or expensive and was easily replaceable. “Yeah but,” Marvin shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets, “You really seemed to like that specific ceramic rat. So, he’s a little busted now, but he’ll live. Quite a resilient one, that Sir Squeakers.”

“Just like a real rat…”

A loud laugh erupted from Marvin as he threw his head back, “Yeah, just like a real rat.”

“I love you, too,” Whizzer blurted suddenly, softly. “That’s why I got so upset. It hurt, having this man that I love keep something as big as a son from me. Especially when  _ I love his son. _ Jason is such a good kid. He’s a little bit lanky and a lot bit awkward, but he’s probably my favorite student I’ve ever taught. He is certainly one of the best kids I’ve ever seen. I just wish you would have told me sooner.”

Marvin stood there for a second, taking in everything he heard. Whizzer loved him too. Whizzer loved Jason. Whizzer didn’t want to leave him. A surge of affection and love rushed through Marvin. It was so strong it almost physically knocked him down and made all other emotions pale in comparison. He does his best to not show it, just how much the small things Whizzer has said affected him. But he feels a wetness spring to his eyes. Marvin blinked back the tears. Now was not a time for crying, no matter how happy. “Me too,” He choked out instead.

Whizzer goes to sit on Marvin’s couch, gently setting the newly fixed Mr. Squeakers onto his lover’s coffee table. He patted the space beside him, the corners of his mouth perking up. Marvin followed Whizzer’s lead and took a seat next to him. Whizzer slung his long legs into Marvin’s lap, leaned his head against Marvin’s shoulder and just sat with him in a comfortable silence. Marvin slid his arms around the taller man and just held him. That was all they did for a while. If asked, neither of them would really be able to give a timeframe for just how long they spent in each other’s company. 

“So we’re okay? I’d have to get Jason’s approval, but … are we okay?” Marvin asked after a century, or maybe just twenty minutes, or maybe an hour or two.

“Hmm?” Whizzer mused, cutting his eyes Marvin’s way, “Yeah. I think so. Are we?”

“I think we are.”

“If I think we’re okay, and you think we’re okay, I have a hunch we might be okay.”

“Thanks, smartass.”

“You love me.”

“Yeah, I do.”

They sat there again. Marvin interlaced their fingers and pressed a his to the back of Whizzer’s hand. Whizzer squeezed. It all felt so good and natural and normal. There was nothing else in the world that Marvin would rather be doing in this moment than just sitting there with his lover. Marvin hopes he doesn’t look or sound as helplessly in love as he feels. 

“I’m gonna move in,” Whizzer declared after a bit. He pulls away from Marvin, just enough so that he is sitting on his own now. They face each other, but Whizzer doesn’t make eye contact. “After Jason is told and stuff, if he gives the okay, I’m gonna move in. I mean, you already have a lot of my clothes. Mr. Squeakers is here. My lease is ending pretty soon, too… It makes sense.” The taller of the two men puffed out his chest, although his bravado seemed a little performative. “That’s okay, right?”

Marvin nodded immediately. Something in Whizzer’s eyes softened. “Of course,” He assured, “I would love that Whizzer. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I like having you around even during those times.” Whizzer laughed, and Marvin laughed. Mostly because Whizzer was laughing, his joy was generally pretty infectious. “We’d have to tell Jason though, about everything. But especially about moving in. I was planning on telling him about us being together this weekend, depending on if this conversation went well of not.”

“Do you want me to be there?” Marvin’s lover asked, leaning in. 

“If you want.”

“I do, kinda.”

“Then you can be there.”

“Would he like that? Do you think he would want me to be there?”

“If yesterday was any indication, he might take it  _ better _ if it came from you.”

Whizzer exhaled hard out of his nose and then gave a single huff of a chuckle. He turned his body away from Marvin, looking at the room surrounding him. “I can’t imagine it’d be an easy thing to accept. Your teacher is dating and also moving in with your dad.”

Marvin nodded, twisting his hands anxiously together a few times. “Yeah,” He mused, “But he’s a great kid. Super smart. He’s gone through a lot more difficult to accept things. Like his dad spontaneously coming out as gay.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty fucking gay.”

“Thanks, Whizzer. You too.”

“I know! Men are just so handsome. I don’t understand how people don’t like them.”

“Me either.”

Whizzer grinned. He laces their fingers together again. He looked around at Marvin’s apartment as if he was seeing it for the first time. If Marvin had to take a guess, he was probably imagining all the ways he could change things once he moved in. “We really need to get you some pictures on the wall, Marv,” Whizzer noted. He was absolutely thinking of all the things he could change things once he moved in. God, Marvin loved him.

“We can put some up, later. Together, if you want.”

Deciding to live with someone, love someone this much was a big choice. It was one Marvin had never made before. When him and Trina got engaged and then subsequently married, they were practically forced. Their hands were tied. There was never a talk of moving in or, hell,  _ loving each other _ before their wedding. It was merely expected of them after the pregnancy. 

But this didn’t feel like dread and doom and the end of days like his wedding did. Marvin wasn’t counting down the days, hours, minutes, seconds until his inevitable death. Now, this was no wedding proposal or marriage in general, no. But it was a big step. It had been one that was half made, but it was still important to sit down and talk about. 

Forging a future with Whizzer felt so different from anything he felt before. He felt so hopeful for, really, the first time in his life. Marvin studied his lover, the way his lips had curved upwards as he glanced around Marvin’s living room. The way his brown eyes sparkle when he gets interested in something. The beauty of his features and how they were currently contorted into something akin to pure happiness. Marvin feels that way too. Giddy, hopeful, happy. He loves Whizzer. Although it might not seem so astronomical to others, agreeing to move in together like this, agreeing to let Whizzer talk to Jason and believing it will go well, agreeing to let Whizzer do what he will with his living area when he moved in completely - these little promises felt like 

holding hands and jumping off of a cliff together. Maybe that’s what good relationships felt like.

A leap of faith. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow! i love having sleeping problems and just deciding to write when i cant sleep. it actually makes me productive! very fun. anyways! next chapter is going to be the last one! i have a couple of ideas for things. a bunch of half formed starters are currently just stewing in my head so ill be curious to see when or if i get around to actually writing them.
> 
> pivoting back to black lives matter. there are still protests going on all over the world. recently, in portland, there have been really scary reports of things federal agents have been doing. i wont go into them here, because i am genuinely very scared, but please keep signing petitions and donating. a good resource to find links for that is https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co and if you havent yet, please sign the white house petition calling for the arrest of breonna taylor's murderers. they have reached their goal, but having more signatures than needed is not a bad thing https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/arrest-killers-breonna-taylor


	5. all i need is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason shifted his weight, shoved his phone back in his pocket. “Why my father? I mean… I guess there’s worse,” He wrinkled his nose. Marvin idly noted that he looked like Trina in that moment. He specifically looked like Trina when she looked at some of Mendel’s more … spunky and distinctive sweaters. His heart melted, just a touch, “But I don’t understand. There’s gotta be better out there, too, right? Someone who shares more of your interests - like baseball - and who isn’t like … a dad, and stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its over !! ive had a bit of writers block so if this is a little later than normal no its not 
> 
> this was rlly fun to write !! ive had this idea just bobbing around in my head since march so im glad i got to get it out and write it down!!

Marvin walked quietly through the door to his apartment. He toed off his loafers and left them by the door. He breathed out a sigh of relief and ran his hands through his floppy curls. Although he wasn’t always thrilled to come back to a silent apartment, Marvin was always grateful for the alone time before a weekend with Jason. It was his time to relax, plan, and act like the couch potato he was but hid for three days out of the week. Marvin smiled to himself and-

“Marvin!” Whizzer poked his head around the corner. Excitement laced his tone as he said, “You’re ho- You’re here! Back from work!” He approached his lover, placing a hand on one of his hips. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it yesterday, but it didn’t occur to me that I would see Jason at school today. When he walked in my class I almost had a heart attack. I don’t know why it was so hard for me to not tell him, but I could barely look at his little face without saying ‘ _ hey I’m dating your dad and if you’re cool with that I’m moving in with him!’ _ I don’t know why, but it threw me off.” He took a deep breath, smiled at Marvin, and looped his arms around his lover’s neck. “But, how was your day? I’m sure you didn’t have an internal crisis about seeing your son in a totally normal place.”

Well, there went his unwinding time before the hectic weekends. He ‘tsk’ed at his lover playfully, but, as Whizzer pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, he couldn’t seem to find it in himself to complain. “I haven’t had that particular crisis yet. I’m pretty sure I will later. But, my day was fine. Just fine,” Marvin hummed, wrapping his arms around the taller’s waist, “Boring. I would have rather been with you.”

Whizzer smiled a little and turned his head away in an attempt to hide it. “Hmm, that’s cheesy. I don’t like that,” He pressed his face into the shorter man’s shoulder. Marvin could practically feel him beam against him. Marvin thought he was always so cute. He wondered if he would ever get tired of the little things Whizzer does.

“I don’t know,” Marvin whispered as he swayed the taller man in his arms, “I think you actually do like cheesy things-”

“Marvin, noooo-”

“I think you really, really like cheesy things.”

“Marv, I’m gonna walk right out this door.”

“I think you would  _ very much _ like to kiss your  _ very cheesy _ boyfriend.”

Whizzer scoffed and looked right at Marvin. “You’re crazy,” He muttered but pressed their lips together again briefly anyways. They held each other for a moment before Whizzer pulled away. Marvin wanted to hold him again, for longer. He reached back out to try, but Whizzer swatted his hands away. “What time does Jason usually get here on Fridays? How much time do we have to prepare?”

Marvin checked his watch, sucked his teeth, “Uh… He could be here at any minute. It’s just about that time. He usually shows up pretty soon after I do on Fridays.”

“What?” Whizzer turned to him quickly. His brown eyes were as wide as saucers. “What do you mean he could be here any minute?” He looked around, but obviously didn’t find what he was looking for as he simply let out an annoyed noise from the back of his throat. He brought his hand to his mouth to bite his nail.

“I mean he could be here any-”

“Any minute, yeah, I get it! Why didn’t you tell me? I wasn’t expecting this, Marvin! I don’t have time to prepare!”

“Well, you knew he was coming!”

“I’m not emotionally ready for this!”

The door burst open and a scrawny kid with a backpack thrown around his shoulders walked through the threshold. “Hey, Dad! You’ll never believe what Mendel did this week,” Jason ranted, kicking his own shoes off. He put them right by Marvin’s. He turned to face his father, “Mendel said that- Oh.” Jason stopped suddenly, “Hi, Mr. Brown.”

Whizzer smiled. He turned to Jason slowly. He looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights, but so did Jason. If the situation wasn’t so serious to Marvin right now, he might have found it funny how similar they looked. Whizzed quickly looked back to Marvin and then back to Jason. Sensing no help or guidance from his lover, he cleared his throat and smiled. “Hi Jason! It’s great to see you here!” He walked over, patting the head of the child.

Jason let Whizzer, which surprised Marvin. “I’m here on weekends. So I live here part-time, I guess,” He explained casually. Once Whizzer stopped touching his hair, he went to fix it. But he didn’t complain about the tall man touching his hair. What a powerful sway Whizzer has on his son. Marvin almost feels envy. “What are you doing here?”

Marvin stepped forward, taking the reins from his frazzled lover. “Hey, kid,” Marvin said awkwardly. Whizzer looked so relieved when Marvin started to talk. “What’s, uh, what’s up? What ridiculous thing did Mendel say?” 

“Well, he was talking about our dog and-” Jason paused to plop his bag onto Marvin’s table. He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. He eyed between the two men, lips pushing themselves into a thin line. “This is weird. Are you guys not gonna pretend like this is weird? I didn’t even know you two  _ knew each other _ existed before Mr. Brown showed up at your apartment out of the blue. And now I’ve seen you guys act all weird together three times now. Three! That’s like, three times too many.” 

Marvin and Whizzer turned to each other. There was a tense second where all three of them said nothing at all. Marvin eased himself into a seat across from his son and slid his bag on the ground, propping it against a table leg. “Okay, bud, well,” He took a deep breath in, held it for three seconds, let it out, “I need to tell you something.”

Jason shifted in his seat, “Okay… I haven’t done anything to get in trouble. So, it’s not about me.” Marvin self consciously mimicked his son’s folded arms. Jason said nothing, but he scoffed a little, “Dad, what have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything bad!”

“But you’ve done something?”

“Jason-”

“Mr. Brown is my favorite person around, probably, so please tell me you guys didn’t declare each other like … lifelong enemies or something.”

“Whizzer and I aren’t lifelong enemies- Jason,  _ please _ .”

There is laughter. A very melodious laughter that tugs the ends of Marvin’s lips upwards involuntarily. Marvin and Jason both turn their attention to Whizzer who is cackling like he is having the time of his life. He held his sides and heaved. Whizzer looked really happy in that moment, so unbothered by the perturbed state of his lover. Jason seemed to be a little confused as to why his teacher was laughing like he was having the time of his life, but he just gave his father a confused look. Whizzer took a deep breath and slid into a seat beside Marvin. “Jason,” He began with a smile, “I’ve gotta tell you something you’re not going to be thrilled about, probably.”

Jason tilted his head. His brown curls flopped along with him. Whizzer reached out and grasped his small hands. Marvin’s son furrowed his eyebrows but gave his teacher a tiny, trusting smile. It was such a sweet sight, to see them holding hands and to see Jason be that vulnerable and open to anyone-

“I’m dating your dad.”

Jason instantly retracted his hands, as if he was burned by the touch. “What?” He asked loudly, throwing his back against his chair. The kid looked absolutely flabbergasted. His mouth hung open just a little and his brown eyes were flicking from his dad to his teacher and back again several times. “Are you serious?”

Whizzer’s indiscretion and Jason’s instant reaction made Marvin’s stomach drop. It all seemed so perfect a second ago. This probably wasn’t going to go well. Why did it have to go so off the rails? So long to his plans with Whizzer. His happy life with his lover, discarded forever. All because of a wrong approach. Jason was going to hate them both forever and resent them for ever dating each other. He was going to consider this a personal attack, even if they started dating before they ever knew Jason was in both of their lives. This was the worst possible outcome, actually, Marvin decided. He was going to perish because of this. He was going to drop dead. And none of this is dramatics. This is all rational and reasonable.

“Yes,” Whizzer said, ignoring Marvin’s crisis beside him, “We started dating before I realized you two were related. I only found out on that day that I was here and the fire alarm went off.” He trailed off with a wince, remembering the disaster of a day. Yeah, that wasn’t anyone's finest moment. Maybe one day they would all be able to look back and laugh. Probably not today, though. Maybe not ever if Marvin and Whizzer ended up breaking up. “I had no idea you two were related. Jason, listen. I really respect you, I think you’re a wonderful kid and you deserve the world. If you’re not comfortable with me dating your dad, you can tell me. If you don’t want me to date your dad, I’ll go. If not I …” He trailed off, turning his face to Marvin. He was fighting off a smile, trying to bite or hide his lips. “I might be around for a while.”

“Wait, how serious is this?” Jason asked, pulling both of the men’s attention back to him. Jason didn’t look distressed or disgusted. He looked … a little concerned, almost intrigued. His back wasn’t pushed up against the chair now. He was now leaning forward a little, his fingertips resting on the table. “What does it mean when you say you might be around for a while?”

Marvin put a hand on Whizzer’s knee under the table and squeezed. “If it’s alright with you, bud, he was thinking about moving in. Meaning you’d have to see him every weekend.”

Jason sat there for a few moments. He furrowed his eyebrows again. There was a tense few seconds of silence. He leaned back in the chair again. The intrigue was gone, replaced mostly with an emotion Marvin couldn’t quite put his finger on. Jason toyed with the ends of his jacket idly.“Why do you need my input?” He questioned, “I mean. It’s your life, Dad. If you want Whizzer in your life, that’s fine.”

“I don’t want to rush into something with someone you don’t like, Jason.” Marvin explained, taking his free hand and reaching across the table. Jason didn’t take it, but his dad left it outstretched and palm facing upward. It was Marvin’s own little olive branch, but he wouldn’t ever force his son to take it. “You’re my son, and I love you. You’re more important to me than any boyfriend. You’re my flesh and blood, kid. Nothing is ever gonna change that-”

“Dad, please don’t get sappy.”

“And I love you, so much, y’know. I would do anything for you.  _ You’re _ my life. Lovers come and lovers go, but you’re still gonna be my son.”

Jason stared at his father with wide eyes. His eyebrows were close to his hairline. He let out a big exhale through his nose and slid his hand to meet with his father’s. “I love you, too. Don’t make me say it often. It’s gross.”

Marvin laughed, squeezing his son’s hand and his lover’s knee. He smiled, wide, and fought off the urge to cry. He’d been doing a lot of crying lately, or feeling like he was on the verge of it. Maybe he really was making progress on throwing away his old toxic thoughts on masculinity. But right now, what was making him so emotional was the fact that his son was just so wonderful. Marvin has absolutely no idea how he turned out like that. He must take after Trina much more than his father. Or maybe it was  _ all _ of the wonderful, compassionate people in his life. His parents, Mendel, the lesbians from next door, Whizzer. Maybe they all contributed to Jason being such a good kid. Despite all the shitty things he has been through, Jason is kind. Most of the time. Secretly. Jason, who is shy and reserved, can be the sweetest kid in the world. Although he is headstrong, stubborn, and has a bit of a temper, no one in Marvin’s life would be able to name a better kid. Including a teacher, who meets countless new kids every year.

“Okay,” Jason muttered, taking his hand away from Marvin’s, “If you wanted my approval, you’ve got it. Mr. Brown is really great. I think he would be, uh, good for you. So, yeah. I’m sure you two will be really happy together.” Jason turned his attention to his bag, going through it and getting out a pair of over the ear headphones. He twisted the wire in his fingers as he said, “We get along really well, too. I think of him as my friend.”

“Jason, you’re my friend, too. Also, you can call me Whizzer outside of class.”

“Whizzer?”

“Whizzer.”

“Sorry, your name is just kinda odd.  _ Whizzer… _ ”

Whizzer nodded. He pouted a little, but seemed to accept this. It didn’t seem like it shocked him. Marvin was pretty sure everyone that Whizzer had ever met had said the exact same thing to him. Despite that, though, Jason grinned at him, looking so happy and like he got the upperhand. Marvin laughed, grabbing Whizzer’s hand openly and pressing a kiss to it.

“Ew!” Jason said, getting up from his seat. He shielded his eyes and turned away quickly, “Okay, yuck. I gave you my blessing but I’m not ready for uh,” He motioned at them. “Dad affection. I see it enough from Mendel, I don’t need it from you too.” He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and plugged in his headphones. “But I’m glad you’re happy.” He waved at them with one hand. Marvin wasn’t sure if he was trying to physically dispel what he saw or if he just did it for himself. Either way, nothing happened as a reaction to it. “I’m gonna go to my room.” Jason said, walking off and away from the table.

“Well,” Whizzer breathed.

“Well,” Marvin echoed.

“Could have been worse!” Whizzer chirped, leaning over and kissing his cheek. Marvin smiled, sighed in relief and nodded. “I was completely expecting him to say no and say this was too weird. I thought I wouldn’t be around long enough to get some pictures on these boring walls.”

“What? Whizzer, baby, why would you think that?”

“It wasn’t that far fetched.”

“Optimism,” Marvin tapped Whizzer’s arm with one finger. Marvin chose to ignore the fact that just a few minutes ago he was ready to be spontaneously struck dead by some force of nature. Maybe divine intervention. But certainly struck dead soon by something, “Is a very good thing. A lovely thing, baby”

“Lofty and unrealistic, next.”

“Whizzer!” 

Whizzer beamed at him. He looked so happy in that moment. He was radiant and sparkling and so, so beautiful. The earth swayed under Marvin’s feet. He had to catch his breath. Somehow, the best possible scenario worked out in his favor. Marvin doesn’t deserve this. A large goofy smile wormed its way onto Marvin’s face and made its home there.

“You’re practically giving me heart eyes, Marvin,” Whizzer purred. He looked like the cat who got the cream.

Marvin laughed and shook his head. “You want me to stop?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I’m still in the room. Mr. Bro-  _ Whizzer, _ I just wanted to ask one question,” Jason said, lingering by the door. Marvin and Whizzer jumped. They both could have sworn that Jason would scurry off as quick as possible. He looked even more awkward than before, and he was looking anywhere but at them. His brown eyes were darting all over the room.

Whizzer shifted to face him, “What’s up Jason?” He tilted his head and gave a big smile that seemed just a little too tight on his face. Poor man, this day has been very stressful for them all. The last thing he needed was another curveball when they all thought they were out of the woods. Marvin rubbed a hand on his forearm. Whizzer glared at him and swatted it away, then turned his attention back to the child in front of him.

Jason shifted his weight, shoved his phone back in his pocket. “Why my father? I mean… I guess there’s worse,” He wrinkled his nose. Marvin idly noted that he looked like Trina in that moment. He specifically looked like Trina when she looked at some of Mendel’s more … spunky and distinctive sweaters. His heart melted, just a touch, “But I don’t understand. There’s gotta be _ better _ out there, too, right? Someone who shares more of your interests - like baseball - and who isn’t like … a dad, and stuff.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid.”

Whizzer, though, laughed. He glanced at his shorter lover from the corner of his eye. “I don’t know. It’s just  _ something _ about him. Being sappy isn’t really something I’m known for, so don’t expect this from me often, Jason-”

“Oh,  _ thank you _ .”

“-But, I think that he’s great. I’ve never had a relationship like this before. It’s really good.” Whizzer smiled. He cleared his throat, turning away from both Marvin and Jason completely, “Also, the whole ‘dad’ thing isn’t a problem. Never would have been a problem. I’m around children constantly by choice.”

Marvin saw Jason smile. His brown eyes softened a little as he toyed with the cord on his headphones again. “Yeah, okay.” He turned around to walk again, but stopped in his tracks. “Oh, Whizzer, I have one more thing to ask”

“Oh! What is it?”

“Will you teach me how to play baseball?  _ Someone _ talked me into trying out for the baseball team at the Jewish Center when the season rolls around.”

And they laughed, and that was all Marvin ever needed. Sure, he had his friends and other things that were important to him, but everything else was dwarfed in comparison to the two people in front of him. Good and bad times would both come, but Marvin had a good feeling about his future. As long as his family was with him, he could dream of anything else. Jason and Whizzer were all Marvin wanted. They are all Marvin could ever want. 

Marvin looks at them, laughing together after a terrible baseball joke Whizzer told. He wondered. Did they know that all Marvin wanted was them? Did they know that all Marvin needed was their happiness? Jason’s bright gaze turned toward his father and he beamed a bright toothy grin. Marvin has a good feeling they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, the bodycams that were recording when george floyd was killed were released recently. i have not personally watched them, but i dont think that anything he could have done would make him deserving of death. especially not a death so cruel as the one he suffered. so if you or anyone you know think that you should stop fighting for black lives, please dont. not only was george floyd undeserving of death, but the systematic murder of black people across the country is something that can not continue. for resources you can go to the blacklivesmatter.carrd.co please use the resources this carrd gives you to do anything you can.


End file.
